January 5th 2010 – Meet the Filmmaker

NESHOBA

a documentary by Micki Dickoff & Tony Pagano (90 min) 2008

Click on the image to the left for a full synopsis.

“…the story of a Mississippi town still divided about the meaning of justice, 40 years after the murders of three civil rights workers.”

In the summer of 1964, three young men went to Philadelphia, a small town in the heart of Neshoba County, to register black voters and investigate a church burning.  When their bodies were found 44 days later buried beneath an earthen dam, many people rationalized the men came looking for trouble and got what they deserved. While the killers continued to live and prosper, most townspeople remained silent, as if the murders never happened.

Finally, in January of 2005, the State of Mississippi indicted the alleged mastermind of the murders, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old Baptist preacher and notorious racist. The filmmakers gained unprecedented access to Killen. For the first time ever, they capture the outspoken views of a Klan member charged with a civil rights murder and take viewers on a journey into the mindset of a man who, to this day, feels the murders of two Jews and an African-American were justified as self-defense of a way of life.

Meet the Filmmaker!

Virgin Islands resident and filmmaker Tony Pagano will be present to introduce his film and participate in discussion with the audience afterwards.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet this filmmaker whose career spans 32 years in the commercial and network broadcast industry. Mr Pagano spent 17 years at the ABC News Magazine 20/20, first as an editor, then location audio, and finally as their leading Director of Photography. Tony currently owns and operates his independent production company, Pagano Productions.

NESHOBA, Pagano’s feature directorial debut, was awarded numerous prizes in 2008, among them BEST DOCUMENTARY at its premier at the Boston Film Festival and BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY at the New York International Film Festival. Link to full list of awards.

“a disturbing peek at how little some people have changed, as well as an inspiring portrait of others’ determination to see crime punished at last…riveting.”  Dennis Harvey, VARIETY November 2008.  Link to full VARIETY review.